Ogilvy: The startup factory

The agency has inspired many to branch out on their ownAmit Bapna | ETBrandEquity | Updated: October 21, 2015, 13:14 IST

Ad-veteran Piyush Pandey's recently released book 'Pandeymonium' has an afterword titled 'Why I never started my own agency' in which he explains why he stuck around at Ogilvy for all the 33 years of his advertising career. While his reasons for not leaving the agency have been well-elucidated, another interesting fact emerges. Under his charge, the Indian outpost has launched possibly the largest number of independent setups. (And we are talking of only those outfits that have been started by people who moved from Ogilvy and went independent.) Agrees and adds Miles Young, worldwide chairman and CEO, Ogilvy & Mather, "Some agencies have been described in the past as 'universities of advertising'. In India we are the maternity-ward of advertising." Pandey has succeeded because he has built a great team, which has renewed itself over time, improving and adapting, adds Young.

In an era of scepticism surrounding the ad business, what makes Ogilvy among the few that continues to inspire many to stay and others to branch out on their own? According to Abhijit Avasthi, former-national creative director, O&M lets people run their projects independently which gives them the confidence and prepares them to run a business. (Read Conscious Uncoupling on page 4) This entrepreneurial streak has been backed by the belief that creative work has to translate into improving the client's business. Says Pandey, "I have always told my people that we are not artistes, we are commercial artistes. We have been commissioned by somebody to improve his commerce."Pandey gives a lot of the credit for fostering the entrepreneurial streak at Ogilvy to the leadership of Ranjan Kapur. Kapur took charge of the agency's Indian operations as the MD in the mid-90s, and "he helped create a culture where I and (S N) Rane operated as a trio with him as the boss, though he never behaved like a boss."

The fact that Pandey played cricket from school onwards which continued while he was graduating from St Stephen's in Delhi has also been of great help. "Cricket has taught me a lot on how to lead and how to be led and both are equally important." Lesson learnt: When you don't respect a leader, the team goes for a toss and when you can't carry your people along with you, it is a case of bad leadership.

Not all independent start-ups have been born out of pure entrepreneurial ambitions. Often people leave because they are unhappy. Corporate life sucks in so much that the need for a balance creeps in. He agrees and says, "You decide to be small and be happy, something that is happening increasingly in the advertising industry." People also leave so that any decision they make professionally will be their decision and not because of (say) Japan's economy getting jacked and its impact on the Indian office. They also move on because of a changing world order that often needs different solutions, something bigger ships find tougher to adjust to. Says Joono Simon, former- ECD, Ogilvy Bengaluru, "The tools of the trade must evolve to keep up, regardless of how comfortable they may feel, and that is an exciting challenge."

Just as the startups have recalibrated the economy in all other categories so also in advertising. Lean, nimble setups are being launched that offer specialised services and not necessarily the whole hog leading up to the 30 second TVCs. When asked how are they doing, Pandey grins and says, "I see all these people driving fancy cars so I guess they must be doing well." On a more serious note, he adds whoever is sincere about his business will do well since there is lots of opportunity. V Sunil, former ECD, Ogilvy Delhi, however feels that the new independent bunch have to stand for something and produce the next global brands out of India, and that is the real challenge.

Conscious Uncoupling

Here's what some of the Ogilvy-preneurs share about Ogilvy and Piyush Pandey's role in their entrepreneurial journey.

Abhijit Avasthi, ex-national creative director, Ogilvy & Mather launched his own setup Sideways along with Sonali Sehgal with an idea to use creativity across the problem-solving realm and not just for advertising

It's Different: For now Avasthi is busy with projects that range from solving an ecommerce brand's HR problems, to developing a product design for an appliance company and mentoring a business in the food space. And yes, also doing some occasional advertising. "70% of our current work is non-advertising" and he is fine with it.

Ogilvy (and Pandey)'s Recipe: "Much of setting up one's own business is about dealing with clients and in Ogilvy there is so much of client facing experience that it prepares people rather well for entrepreneurship." The stint also helps in understanding the client's problems and coming up with solutions, rather than throwing 'cool' ideas, he adds. Family-connections withstanding (he is Pandey's nephew); Avasthi feels that Piyush has been the driving force behind this culture at Ogilvy. "He lets people make mistakes and lets them learn."

V Sunil, the celebrated creative maverick left Ogilvy in 2004 to start his own agency 'A' which eventually became a part of Wieden+Kennedy India

Lessons Learnt: Ogilvy under Piyush was always a bit entrepreneurial. Any strong creative person could drive a project without fear and good ideas were supported and protected. "The confidence to start (for me) came from two things: firstly, running the Delhi office with the level of independence that Piyush gave and secondly, the realisation that to run a good idea or a brand, one does not need a large army but just a few good men/women."

Counter-point: "The sad truth is that the so called 'creative independence' and the many new design companies, agencies and digital shops have not really produced any great brands, or provided a fresh perspective." Most of them were doing far more superior work at Ogilvy, he feels. It's important for them to stand for something and produce the next global brands out of India. "Where is the next Cadbury's? Fevicol? Vodafone etc.?"

Joono Simon, the executive creative director at Ogilvy Bengaluru quit earlier this year to launch his own digital shop, Brave New World

Life at Ogilvy and beyond: Ogilvy has set some industry benchmarks and, in many ways, it represents the summit for many creative people. So when a senior professional considers life after Ogilvy, the choices often seem limited or hazy, and starting off on one's own presents itself as a logical conclusion, he says.

Times Were Changing: "As much as I respect the Ogilvy model, it was equally important for me to break new ground. One of the key things that takes the industry forward is its ability to non-conform. So it was important for me to look at a parallel engagement model."

Lessons from Pandey: "The key thing Piyush has got right was keeping his eyes glued on the men and women of this country, as opposed to following international norms. Maybe it's that famous cricketing intuition - when your eyes are fixed on the ball, the rest of the body automatically adjusts to face it. And that has helped."

Neeraj Bassi, president planning at Ogilvy Delhi left a few months ago to launch a consultancy CoffeeandChocolate, with the endeavour to help brands define their integrated communication briefs for agencies

The Fertile Hot-bed: "Ogilvy was and is a great place for creativity. The only difference is that given the rise in overall entrepreneurial culture in India, perhaps there are more breakaways today."

The Ogilvy Kit: The task, at his current setup, is to get brand handlers to sit back and reflect at the big picture backed by the belief, that only when they take a break from the proximity with the problem that they'll be able to see why that problem happened in the first place! The core philosophy of Ogilvy, "we don't work for clients, we work for brands", which Pandey has himself championed from the front, is really helping in this job, he says.

Look Out: An organisation the size of Ogilvy requires significant investment in human-resources and he feels that has been a weak point. "In an organisation whose key resource is people, HR should have been a strong support function."

Prateek Srivastava co-founded ChapterFive Brand Solutions along with Sunita Murthi after being in Ogilvy for nearly 13 years. He was last heading the Ogilvy South and North offices before he moved out in 2013

Ogilvy Lessons: "The importance given to the client relationships. It not only leads to great output but also stands you in good stead when breaking out independently. The other big difference at Ogilvy is that people across departments are encouraged to be creative."

Breaking Out: "At a personal level, I was disappointed about advertising going down the value chain, and that created a bit of personal vacuum." And so the decision to be part of the business and marketing decision-making process. In many cases, ChapterFive does just the strategy bit and then steps out, and doesn't get into making the creatives. "We don't pitch," he adds.

Heeral Akhaury has chosen to opt out of advertising totally, after having worked in Ogilvy for nearly 12 years. Her creative outfit is called 'Ullu ke Pathhe' and she makes money out of making owls on things

Bat From The Front: "One thing that I learnt from Piyush is to play on your front foot. Don't worry about who, why, what people say but go by your gut. When I decided to call my company 'Ullu Ke Pathe', many were hesitant about the name. But I decided to go with my gut, and come to think of it maybe 'Ullu Ke Pathe' was subconsciously inspired by the many Ullus I have interacted with over the years," she says with a poker-face.

No Barriers: The constant flow of creativity in everything that happens at Ogilvy, right from dealing with a client brief to making a presentation, "one is always challenged with finding innovative ways to stand out," she says.

Age is no barrier to start something new and different and really it's never too late, she adds. Piyush himself started his advertising career much later in life and that too in client servicing.

One thing I dislike about Piyush: "His smoking and I wish he would give that up."